Geoffrey B. Small

[Geoffrey B. Small]

[Geoffrey B. Small]

Dear SZ'ers,

Just like to take a quick moment to post-up a choice of links to send a few bucks or more to help the earthquake rescue and recovery efforts in Haiti. Every little bit helps and the need is definitely urgent as I'm sure you all know...



• AmeriCares: https://secure.americares.org/site/D...campaign=Haiti

• Doctors Without Borders: http://www.moveon.org/r?r=86019&id=1...53-r8DsWRx&t=1

• Oxfam America: http://www.moveon.org/r?r=85998&id=1...53-r8DsWRx&t=2

• Yéle Haiti: http://www.moveon.org/r?r=86026&id=1...53-r8DsWRx&t=3


Thanks for your consideration and help. If you have already done something, please pass this along to others...

Best wishes,

Geoffrey

[DRRRK]

Very good idea to post something here. I think we all can afford to spend a small amount of our income on a donation.

For german members: http://www.aktion-deutschland-hilft.de/index.php

For european members:https://www.helpdirect.org/

[Fade to Black]

Right on Geoff...

another site taking donations: http://www.christianaid.org.uk/

There's some great stuff posted in this thread, I look forward to sitting down and giving it a good read. Thanks Mr. Small.

[MaxM]

By the way Geoffrey I forgot to say that I really do like the image on the invitation.

Is it the actual invitation or just some kind of announcement?

Or did he send you one?

[delphine]

Is it the actual invitation or just some kind of announcement?

Or did he send you one?

I was wondering the same thing. It seems very private and exclusive, and yet it's posted here so..

Mr. Small, is this just an announcement letting us know you'll be showing in Paris? Or are folks in this forum invited to come view your collection? I'm assuming the former as it states that it's by appointment only.

[MaxM]

Could someone please set matters straight?

[hobo]

I think that Geoffrey was just posting the invite for your information and to keep you informed as to how the industry works. Unfortunately, it is not possible to open the showroom to the general public (even SZers). Designers, press and buyers all have to be very protective of their work and therefore the showroom is a very protected place. Having said that, the SZers will be represented at many of the showrooms, including Geoffrey's, by Faust, Lowery, Fuuma, DHC, and of course the old hobo, so fear not, I'm sure that you'll get regular updates.

Incidentally, I was thinking of starting a photo blog for you guys to get a little behind the scenes action. If anyone is interested, let me know.

[MaxM]

Thank you for the clarification hobo

Incidentally, I was thinking of starting a photo blog for you guys to get a little behind the scenes action. If anyone is interested, let me know.

Well i wouldn't mind at all

[sshum88]

M, would be interested to see this. Will need some text for context. Great if you have the time.

Incidentally, I was thinking of starting a photo blog for you guys to get a little behind the scenes action. If anyone is interested, let me know.

[Geoffrey B. Small]

Dear friends on SZ,

Thanks to everyone for your very kind posts, PM's, and email responses and comments to the 1st fabric story installment (). I am working on the next one, but right now need to deal with the always impossible January schedule of SS2010 production work obligations and creation our new AW2010-11 men's collection which must be completed and in Paris in less than 2 days. Suddenly thought it might be interesting to share on SZ a few of the quick weird thoughts that flash through the mind, an inside look into the madness in the mind of what some of us go through each time we must give birth to a new collection that will be shown in Paris...




The Madness and loneliness
of an independent designer


"Work is done,
and then forgotten,
and so
it lasts forever"
-Lao-Tsu

Wow..
the beautiful images
and posts
that have appeared
recently
on the Yohji thread
at SZ,
the melancholy
of looking again
at the great work
done by one
of the great masters
and groups
of our time,

and how fragile
it can become
once one has lost
his independence...

The painful
fact that he
is not alone
in his fate--

indeed
an entire generation
has already,
or

is on its way

to the same
destiny



Now I
must face
the great void
alone
once again,

the blank abyss
of trying
to find
what
to do
with
the next collection.

And how to earn
the next six months
of work,
survival,
and a place in the arena

The stress,
time pressure,
lack of resources,
insecurity
and
total fear
that one must face
and combat with
each time
to be able
to enter
and merit
a place
in the world's most competitive designer arena.

Paris

The appreciation and gratitude
to still have a chance to do so--
as an independent.

To hold out,
and remain
a person
"owned"
by no one.

No "producers."
no "backers"
no "agents"
no "licensees"
no "distributors"
no trade show "organizers"
no "King" retailer
to tell me what to do,
to dilute,
interfere,
get in the way,
or as in so many cases--
take over
our ability
to do exactly
what our vision,
minds,
hearts
and hands
can and will
achieve,

God willing.

No need
to take part
and be a victim
anymore
of the "system"
that has eaten up
and ruined
an endless string
of the great
and not-so great.

The industrial machine
that uses
the designer
as pawn.

Just God above,
my family whom I love,
and the best clients in the world
to answer to, nothing else...

and commitment
to work our hearts out
and give them
everything we have
inside us
and beyond.

But,
every new season
is the toughest one
we have ever dealt with.

Every new collection
the most challenging.

And this time is no different.

Especially when
you are a real
independent.

The laws
of Paris collection work
remain firm.
We are in a race
to the very end,
the grinding-work
of ideas
and more importantly,
their execution
with only
our minds,
bodies,
hands,
time
and energy
to carry us there
willingly.

We must always
remind ourselves
of the painful truth
"that the last thing in the world
that most people need
is another fashion designer,
and his or her new collection."

True.

We are not doctors
saving people
from immediate pain
or death,
or even a plumber
fixing a toilet
which does not work.
The needs we fill
are generally viewed
as a more latent sort.


So we must constantly
answer the question,
"what are you doing
and proposing
that is so special,
that merits
your very existence?"

Answer the question.

Back to reality.







Back to work.







More decisions.
More work.
Don't get lost though.
Keep your head above it.
Look at it.
Use your eyes
above all else.
Remember,
it's a visual medium
we're in.
It has to look good.
Like it.
Don't like it.
Decide.
Then get it done.
Sketch.
Draft.
Cut.
Stitch.
Stitch more.
Dye.
Wash.
Look.
Finish.
Decide.
Good.
Bad.
Great.
Make it better
or move on.
Next one.
Hurry.
Find the groove.
Gotta find the groove.
Where is the road
taking us to?
Keep digging.
Find the groove.
Damn,
it's 5 in the morning already,
another day
gone.
Gotta sleep
at least a few hours...
where is that groove?
Man, my body
hurts,
tired.
Don't get sick.
Or you're out.
The madness of the whole thing.
No wonder they gave up,
quit,
sold-out,
closed,
gave in,
signed,
whatever
you want
to call it-
every last one of them...

hope they are all ok
and getting more rest
than me today,
and maybe
made themselves
a pot of money.

But that's their story,
not mine.
In New Hampshire as they say,
"live free or die."

That's me
for today...

[Geoffrey B. Small]

Keep digging.
Where is that groove?
The groove is
where the freedom is.
Find the groove and you find the freedom.
Freedom is truth.
Truth is beauty.
Find the beauty
and find the freedom.
At least for one more season...
keep digging.
Find the groove,
I think I can see it...

It's like
stepping out
into the void
you see...

hoping to get to the other side
and find the daylight and the path of
solid soil and ground and trees
But there are no guarantees.
Perhaps, this time you will fall
like Prometheus
reaching for the sun

Vic Chestnutt

you just took your life
and I just heard about you....

"and so all you observers
in your scrutiny,

don't count my scars
like tree rings

my jigsaw disposition,
its piecemeal properties,

are either smoked,
or honey cured,

by the panic pure."

Vic Chestnutt
(deceased) Christmas Day 2009


Yeah,
panic pure
I hear you.
RIP
for real

wake up

Stay at it, man
Don't give up now
It ain't over 'till its over
Remember
you gotta get it out
get it out
while you got the chance
the message
Tell 'em
the story
they don't know
they gotta know
what happened
to those people
all of 'em
Louis Slotkin
Mayak,
Chelyabinsk
Lake Karachay,
Prypiat,
Hanford
Trinity
Hiroshima,
Atoll de Mururoa,
Nagasaki,
Savananah
Chernobyl,
Tricastin,
La Hague
Windscale
Sellafield
Three Mile Island
Davis-Besse
Semipalatinsk
Ozyorsk
Chelyabinsk-65
Chelyabinsk-40
The Rutherford building in Manchester
depleted uranium casings
H-bombs
aboard B52's,
and B47's
crashing
accidentally
dropping
bombs
over Spain
over Greenland
over North Carolina
accidentally dropping
nuclear bombs!
that were never recovered
they're out there
nuclear
submarines sinking
satellites crashing
Scorpion
Thresher
Baltic
Northeast Canada
Norway
explosions in nuclear factories
everywhere
Oakridge
China
The Urals
West Gorky
Hanford
Baltic Sea


all the near misses
so many of them

lucky

and all the victims
not so lucky
all those poor people
how they died
on those fateful days
of warning
millions
how they died
fission
radiation
leukemia
cancer
skin dripping off their bones
turning to green jelly
eaten alive
by atomic energy
by neutrons
smashing into dna
cells gone beserk
death
in 15 days
or cancer
in 15 years
or 20
or 25
but it's coming
you've taken your hit
irradiated
marked for death
choose your killer
plutonium
uranium
strontium
cobalt
iodine
caesium
irridium
beryllium
depleted uranium
americium
neptunium
tritium
thorium
pollonium
krypton
xenon
products
of nuclear fission
exploded into the atmosphere
burned into the air
used in the bullets
dumped into the oceans
leaked into the rivers
the lakes
the ground
the soil
the fish
the produce
the meat
the food
we eat
it's everywhere
you can't see it
you can't smell it
it just goes right through you
it's in your body
and it kills you.
he's got cancer
she's got cancer
you've got cancer
i've got cancer
they've got cancer
it's the latest trend
a worldwide epidemic
we've all got cancer
and guess where
it's coming from


439 of them
around the world
104 in America
59 in France
15 in England
17 in Germany
51 in Japan


and now

they want to build more

300 of them
in the next ten years
the first will "fire up"

in 2012
yeah, that's right 2012

in Finland

then Flamanville
10 to 15 of them
in Italy
one right where I live
5 kilometers from Venice
what about the food?
what about the kids?
what about the floods?
what about the earthquakes?
what about the volcanoes?
what about the view?
what about the water?
what about the fabrics?
gotta be dreaming
but no
they are dead serious
and bringing soldiers too
just like their brand name suv's,
sunglasses and jeans
now they think need their
nuclear energy too
great...
take the most beautiful country in the world
and ruin it for eternity
in a decade
but whoa
that's not the end of it
80 more in India
and oh my god,
100 in China...
what about the floods?
what about the earthquakes?
what about the milk?
and lead in the Barbie's?
now these guys are going to handle plutonium....
and then
two or three
each
in another 60
developing and 3rd world nations...
Syria
Jordan
Egypt
the United Arab Emirates
Pakistan
Indonesia
Malaysia
Argentina
Turkey
Vietnam
Albania
Iran
North Korea
you name it
they'll all have one.


Each one
an atom bomb
exploding
"under control"
24 hours a day
just one
human error
or earthquake
or
terrorist act
away
from another
Mayak,
Chernobyl
or worse,
capable of
3-5 megatons
able to kill millions
and render
entire continents
uninhabitable
to humans
for 250,000
years.

Each one
taking,
using,
sending back,
plutonium fuel and waste shipments
all over the planet
by truck,
train,
boat
and ferry.

You may
be passing one
in your car on the freeway right now.


God help us.

God help me

Every collection
may be the last one

the last chance to stay in the arena,
To have a voice.


God help me
tell the story

of the people










of Chernobyl,
of Mayak,
of Hiroshima,
and more

The children
the families
the mothers
the fathers
the liquidators
the hibakusha
all of them


Don't let their
sacrifice be
covered up

Don't let their
pain have been
in vain

Get off your a_ses
Unplug the TV
viral the message
spread it
the truth
get 'em into the voting booth
now
before it's too late
before there are none
forever

Let 'em know
that madness
awaits them


nuclear renaissance
begins in 2010


and it's coming
to where you live.


Wherever you are.


Panic pure
for sure



Hey,

wake up

it's only fashion...


you're just
a designer


shut up and make your frocks

who needs
another one
of you anyway?


Live free or die.


just joking.



in haste,

Geoffrey

[Geoffrey B. Small]

Post script

ps. apologies to anyone for the brevity and haphazardnous of the above. Any reference to names and objects is purely for fictitional purposes of the stressed out and delirious author and does not refer to any actual existing, living or dead individuals or persons or corporations or countries. With respect to all humanity ...




A little girl's doll photographed still laying on a field in the city of Pripyat, 23 years after the explosion of Chernobyl, where 45,000 men, women and children were evacuated suddenly in buses after being told they would need to leave their homes temporarily for a few days on April 29, 1986 as a burning cloud of deadly levels of radioactive nuclear waste rained down over thousands of kilometres of territory around them. No one has ever returned to live there. The abandoned city today is a testament to the safety and real risks of nuclear energy, if you remain more than several hours in the city and anywhere within a vast distance in its countryside, you will still receive a lethal dose of radiation that will kill you within weeks. Yet so few have been informed. And now it is being rammed through as a clean energy solution to global warming. Right. Do we really need 740 of these by 2020?

Related links:

Paul Fusco's story
(magnum photos)
http://inmotion.magnumphotos.com/essay/chernobyl
YouTube version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HLkD...eature=related

The true battle of Chernobyl uncensored
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...1427276447319#

Italian version (versione italiano):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEG7dSd8tv0&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2
Etiempolibresite%2Ecom%2Fforum%2Flofiversion%2Find ex%2Ephp%3Ft5619%2
Ehtml&feature=player_embedded#t=86

[huckleberry]

Always love your posts, this did remind me of this video



I am undecided on nuclear power, I see the necessity in our current situation in regards to resources and global warming however the detrimental effects of waste and high risk are quite overwelming.My very simple conclusion on it is that for now it is so depended upon that it seems hard to stop it, however it is clear that it is only a temporary solution.

[Faust]

I had a pleasure of meeting Geoffrey in Paris. I was utterly blown away by two things:

1) The quality of the materials, from finest overdyed cashmeres to washed Italian silks for the linings, and construction quality.
2) His honest and gentle character.

Very happy to have you here and a personal thanks from me.

[theetruscan]

Geoffrey,

I think you might appreciate this journalist's site. It is often unpleasant though. http://www.zoriah.com/

I want to thank you for the coat I am wearing. It's the black wool overcoat from Sartorialoft. It has been my armor this winter in Illinois.

-jeff

[galia]

I could have written exactly the same thing as Faust, but my words hold less value here, so yeah. ditto I guess. I felt really priviledged

[lowrey]

I will join the choir, Geoffrey is one of the nicest guys I've met and every time I've talked with him I feel like I'm learning something. the man has incredible insight from the industry and world of fashion, which he proved once again with our conversations over after hours ramen

[Avantster]

I had the pleasure of meeting Geoffrey and inspecting his work for the first time in person.

I was deeply moved. I have not been so touched by the tactile experience of a garment since the very first time I experienced Yohji Yamamoto. Geoffrey is clearly a passionate, hard-working individual and this shines through his work.

Geoffrey, thank you for showing me that there is hope somewhere in the 'system' of fashion.

[Geoffrey B. Small]

Always love your posts, this did remind me of this video...

I am undecided on nuclear power, I see the necessity in our current situation in regards to resources and global warming however the detrimental effects of waste and high risk are quite overwelming.My very simple conclusion on it is that for now it is so depended upon that it seems hard to stop it, however it is clear that it is only a temporary solution.

Dear Huckleberry, I will try to help you decide....
thanks very much for your post and video from Cambridge Ideas, I have given the video a very thorough review, and I just don't buy their numbers. Fundamentally, they do not address consumption behaviour and conservation nearly enough for me-- beginning with their use of 40 watt lightbulbs for their demonstration. There is absolutely no reason for anyone to be using that kind of lightbulb anymore for anything, and the very fact that they did so without any mention of the new low consumption bulbs immediately makes me think they are working for, or funded by, the energy industry interests. I changed all of our lightbulbs to low wattage fluorescents in all our residential and work spaces here in Italy in 2008 and in one month saw my electric bills go down by more than half. Just by changing the lightbulbs. Old 100watt lightbulbs can now be cheaply replaced by new ones that use 11 watts for equivalent light. That's almost a 10-fold reduction in energy consumption and need. The nuclear and electrical grid energy industries want you to believe that you really need them and you need more and more power so you must accept a temporary solution now like nuclear. But nuclear is not a temporary solution in any sense of the word. Once you startup a nuclear reactor it takes forever to shut it down and even longer to get rid of it, including the waste which starting with plutonium has a half life of 250,000 years.

Given all the costs and perils nuclear presents to me, my family and the next 6000 generations of my race, frankly, I don't think I need all that electricity, thanks. In fact, if you really look into it--these companies plan to sell most of the electricity on the new unregulated energy markets to other utilities in other countries much more than furnish you with the electricity you actually need.

In any case, if I had to choose between Leukemia and even life by candlelight at night for the rest of my life, you know what, I 'd go for the candles in a second (ever talk to someone dying of leukemia? pretty nasty way to go--especially if you are a kid--the most likely to get it if you live near a nuclear powerstation).

Meanwhile, if you are in the UK I hope you're not living or driving near Sellafield or Cambria last week...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8470800.stm
better drive carefully, that ain't no milktruck you might be following...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8469249.stm


Or better yet, how do you feel about this one?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8472771.stm
yeah...world nuclear party. everyone's invited. Rock on.

The fundamental problem is this:
80 percent of the world's resources
are controlled and being used up
by 20 percent of the world's population.

Our totally rampant and unchecked consumption at all levels is at the core of the world's problems. We don't need more energy at our disposal, we need to waste less, conserve more, and actually begin to live much better for ourselves, and among our brethren, as a result. Fashion is the same and mirrors the situation. But nuclear is far more dangerous for all of us.

There is simply no margin for error.

Please think it over Huckleberry, before it's too late.
Thanks again for your post and best wishes, Geoffrey